Blind panic set in as Sirius tilted his broom towards the ground and made a hasty descent. The speed of his decline was so rapid that his heart seemed to jump up into his throat. Several flashes of green light flew past him, missing his arms and head by inches. He urged his broom forward further still, willing it to go faster until it was almost free-falling.

He could no longer see; even blurred outlines were now invisible; nothing existed but blackness. Sure that he was going to be sick, he tried to slow down….but it was too late.

Sirius' broomstick crashed to the ground, throwing its rider off. He felt his leg collide with the ground and heard the sickening crunch as his body crumpled on top of his damaged limb; and then the world around him melted into nothing.

Chapter 6: Aberforth's Mistake

Sirius had no idea for how long he had been unconscious. When he finally came around he remembered very little at all.

His head pounded painfully as if it had been attacked with an iron hammer. His eyes felt heavy and reluctant to open.

…Not that he wanted to open them, it seemed as though he had not slept in days…

As his senses slowly recovered Sirius became aware that he was lying on what appeared to be damp grass. The air around him was thick and intoxicating, lulling him back to unconsciousness. He tried to fight it, struggling to keep his mind active.

'Where are you?'

'…come on Sirius'

'….remember…'

'What happened?'

Nothing…..

He could not place himself at all.

Eyes firmly shut he tried desperately to recall where he was and what had happened to him, but he could remember nothing.

He became aware of a very sharp, stabbing sensation in his leg, a feeling that got stronger by the second. He tried to move his hand to locate the source of the pain, but a fist wrapped itself around his own, preventing him from moving.

'What?'

'Don't move.'

Slowly Sirius allowed his eyelids to part, causing his eyes to ache in protest.

....how he longed to sleep…..

He could just about make out the angular features of a young man's face, just inches from his own.

Who the person was, he couldn't tell. Gaudy patterns and livid colours swirled in front of his eyes, blinding him and making him feel quite dizzy.

'It's ok, just keep still.'

Though he still did not know the face, Sirius recognised the soft accent immediately – it was Benjy Fenwick.

'Where am I?'

'Just where you landed,' Benjy replied with a laugh. 'Afraid I can't be anymore specific. You remember we veered off course don't ya? The Death Eaters….'

Death Eaters.

The word flashed in Sirius mind, jolting him back to consciousness as if someone had tipped a bucket of freezing water over his head.

'James!'

He sat up with such force that his broken limb almost parted from his body entirely. He let out a piercing shriek and Fenwick immediately withdrew his wand from his belt.

'What the hell did I tell you? Don't move!'

The young wizard placed the tip of his wand against Sirius leg and muttered a lengthy incantation under his breath.

A soft beam of purple light drifted from the wand and melted over Sirius' flesh. He felt immediate relief as the spell penetrated his skin and slowly healed his wound. It felt as though warm, soft palms were massaging the break, gently urging the bone back into place and setting it perfectly.

'How did you…?'

'I am a Healer,' Benjy smiled. 'Well a trainee Healer anyways, St Mungo's y' know.'

Sirius clambered to his feet urgently and found that he and Fenwick were surrounded by a glowing scarlet shield. The translucent, red dome seemed to be protecting the two friends from the enemy outside.

'They're battling without us?'

Benjy nodded, his handsome face was pale and full of worry.

'They're badly outnumbered without us. We need to move.'

'And James?'

'He's doin' fine' Benjy smiled weakly. 'He's a good fighter. He could be great you know, with practice and a bit of experience. I hear you applied to be Aurors.'

Sirius nodded curtly - he was in no mood for small talk.

His best friend was in danger.

'Can you get rid of this thing?'

Benjy advanced towards the edge of the dome and withdrew his wand.

'Get ready,' he warned, and Sirius took out his wand.

With a complex looking charm, Benjy dissolved the protective shield and ran straight back into the heart of the battle.

Sirius took a second to survey the scene around him.

Several silhouetted figures could be seen in the distance, on what appeared to be grassy wasteland. But for the occasional tree Sirius doubted that this lonely hillside had ever experienced life before. Their exact location was a mystery, there seemed to be nothing but furze and bramble for miles around.

The Longbottom's stood a few kilometres away. They looked to be experienced in wand-battle; together they fought off four Death Eaters with well-aimed curses and great defence. Moody took control of the situation, coming to the aid of the struggling Order members rather than engaging in just one single conflict.

Benjy was right about James, he was a good fighter but he lacked experience. He had never had to practice defence outside of a classroom, and although he was always top of the class, this scenario presented a whole new challenge; this time the person attacking him actually meant to kill him.

Fenwick, already engaged in a battle of his own, put up a brave fight with little effort.

It seemed to Sirius that the Order was outnumbered due to a missing member, but he did not give himself time to dwell on this. As he stood measuring up his opponents he saw a second Death Eater strike James, who was already trying to repel a particularly persistent attacker.

Sirius sprang forward without sparing a second for thought. He ran towards his helpless friend sending a stream of curses towards the two Death Eaters. One curse, a particularly powerful Stunner, stuck the larger of the Death Eaters on the shoulder causing him to fall to the ground. James took heed and dealt the other a powerful blow. Moody ran over to the scene and bound the two fallen Death Eaters with thick iron chains conjured by his wand.

The fallen Death Eaters gave no resistance, Sirius worried for a minute that they had been rendered unconscious, (it was hard to tell due to the masks on their faces) but then decided that they had, indeed, deserved it anyway.

He turned to congratulate James on a job well done, but catching the expression on his best friend's face made him stop him mid-sentence.

The mischievous glint, commonly found in James Potter's eyes had been replaced by a look of mingled fear and disgust. His face contorted angrily as his wide eyes fixed upon something in the sky. His black hair was bathed in a dark green light, as was Moody's face, which wore an expression not unlike James's.

Slowly and uncertainly, Sirius raised his eyes to meet whatever had provoked such emotion from his two companions. His eyes traced the bleak, grey sky to the place where a faint green light bled into the monochrome clouds; he followed the skyline as the pale lime grew stronger and became a bright, brilliant emerald.

Sirius did not know what he had expected to find, but on pin-pointing the source of the strange show of colour, he felt his heart stop.

A glittering array of deep green stars burned into the weak clouded sky, they dotted around in all directions like a great constellation; but these stars did not portray any of the signs that Sirius had studied in Astronomy. They depicted the symbol feared and reviled by all decent wizards and magical creatures alike – the Dark Mark; a large skull-like figure with a snake protruding from its bony mouth.

'Whoever conjured that is going to pay dearly for it,' Moody snarled. 'Well don't just stand there you two; it's only a bloody symbol….Its not going to bite you!'

Sirius and James obediently began forward. James sprinted further up the field to where Frank and Alice continued to battle skilfully, fighting off two Death Eaters each. Though they coped well with their plight, neither were any nearer to defeating their opponents.

Sirius jogged to Benjy Fenwick's side and between the pair of them they managed to disable one more Death Eater. Once again Moody came to restrain the victim, who writhed around the grass with fury, cursing and spitting at the Orders feet.

This time Moody did not order the two men to get a move on, but he smiled at them with a degree of pride.

'That's all of 'em'

Surprised, Sirius looked around the field and found that Moody was right. All of the Death Eaters had fallen; bound and gagged they lay scattered upon the grassy floor.

James, Alice and Frank rejoined the group, panting, flushed but triumphant. Sirius wrapped an arm around James' shoulders.

'Not bad for a day's work' James gasped, struggling to catch his breath.

Moody flicked his wand, and the bodies of the captured Death Eaters flew across the field and landed at his feet.

'One, two…wait a minute…..we've only got nine here. Didn't you count ten Fenwick?'

'Yes, definitely ten' Benjy confirmed, scanning the landscape uncomfortably. 'I suppose one could have Apparated.'

Moody looked thoughtful for a moment, 'Aren't we a man short too?'

'Shit,' Sirius spat, 'I noticed when I came through the shield that Aberforth was missing.'

'Well bloody find him!' Moody cried.

The group anxiously began a search of the area, wands drawn and ready for attack.

Their search had been fruitless for almost half an hour when the young Dumbledore emerged from the trees; the missing Death Eater bound to his wrist.

'This little brute tried to curse me!' Aberforth spluttered with outrage, wiping sweat from is weathered brow. 'There I was, sitting behind a tree….minding my own business…'

The Order members gathered around the furious looking man, each as puzzled as the next.

'Sitting behind a tree?' Moody asked with forced politeness.

'Well,' Aberforth began, raising his eyebrows. 'I never did like confrontation you know….very unpleasant.'

Moody frowned but allowed the coward to continue.

Sirius thought that had Aberforth not been Albus Dumbledore's younger sibling Moody would have physically torn him to shreds; his tolerance was only reflective of his respect for his old friend.

'Sooo, I was just minding my own business, enjoying the skirmish from afar when this dreadful cur tries to attack me!'

The high pitched horror in Aberforth's voice caused Sirius and James to smirk.

'I hit him with a Babbling Charm,' continued Aberforth, 'Only he appears to have talked himself to sleep.'

The Death Eater did appear to be asleep. His body remained rigidly upright but his hooded head rolled forward onto his chest.

Moody undid the manacle that bound the Death Eater to Aberforth, who quickly moved aside as if scared the unconscious enemy was carrying something contagious.

The black robed figure fell to the floor.

Moody raised his wand as if to bind him, but before he had a chance to act the Death Eater disappeared.

'You fool,' Moody hissed at Aberforth. 'He wasn't unconscious….he was taking you for the bloody thick mug that you are!'

Aghast, Aberforth began to sob; Fenwick tried to comfort him but succeeded only in making the pitiful figure sob louder.

'We need to get to Gringotts now!' Moody bellowed. 'Find you broomsticks…'

The end of Moody's sentence died in his throat. The other Death Eaters, which had lain so motionlessly at his feet, had disappeared too.

For a moment Moody looked very scared.

He had good cause to.

Seconds later the Death Eaters reappeared, fully fit.

They formed a circle around the group, blocking their escape.

The first curse came from the tallest of the Death Eaters, followed by retaliation from Frank Longbottom.

The battle recommenced in full force-the Order members hindered by a lack of space within the Death Eaters circle.

This time Aberforth joined the fight, evidently keen to show his talents to Moody and hopefully make amends for his previous mistake. He was a good fighter, not as brilliant as one would expect the brother of Albus Dumbledore to be, but still he was swift in movement. His main downfall was his apparent lack of knowledge; he performed basic body-bind charms and other less powerful spells that had no real hope of disabling a Death Eater for any considerable amount of time.

Sirius struggled to fend off two wizards at once. From the corner of his eye he watched as Moody tried to relieve him of the more powerful of the two; in the process the Auror fell to the floor and had to be rescued by Alice.

Aberforth too ran to Moody's aid but never quite made it to his side. Instead he stopped several feet away, his eyes fixed upon the ground.

'Expelliarmus!'

Sirius reverted to traditional fighting methods in hope of quickly defeating his remaining opponent.

After securing the Death Eater's wand he threw a heavy punch which collided with the masked forehead. Making extra certain that his opponent was defeated, Sirius then turned back to Aberforth who was gathering something up from the floor; his eyes were fixed greedily upon the small object. It appeared to Sirius that Aberforth's find was merely a screwed up handkerchief, it had probably fallen from Moody's pocket.

Sirius froze.

The last time he had seen Moody's handkerchief it had been hanging from the Auror's cloak, wrapped around the Stone.

'Aberforth, wait! Give that…' Sirius stopped.

A blinding flash of green light erupted just feet from the young Dumbledore; who looked thoroughly frightened though he kept a jealously tight hold on the Stone.

Sirius watched the light intently as it grew brighter and flickered. He was vaguely aware that the Death Eaters had ended their attack and regrouped in their circle.

The light slowly became wider and Sirius watched in horror as a figure emerged from the beam, which seemed to have provided some sort of doorway.

The light died.

Alice, Frank and the others grouped silently behind Sirius who, but for Aberforth, stood closest to the new arrival. The circle of Death Eaters widened as the hooded figures spread themselves out.

Sirius's heart began to pound as he realised that they were all trapped. He knew now was the time to Apparate although Moody had other ideas.

'Stay where you are,' he whispered, 'we can't move until we have The Stone'

Aberforth certainly didn't seem to have any plans to leave. His eyes were fixed upon the figure that had just seconds ago passed thought the mysterious channel of light.

The boy looked to be around the age of seventeen. He had dark eyes and an untidy crop of thick black hair. He wore black robes which contrasted terribly with his ghostly white skin.

Sirius heard Moody's footsteps as the Auror slowly crept to Aberforth's side. It was only now that he could see the expression on Moody's face, and he had never seen anyone look so scared. Aberforth on the other hand appeared to be positively delighted. He grinned insanely at the young boy who regarded him with a kind smile.

'Hello Aberforth. It has been such a long time.'

'What's going on?' Sirius thought

Surely if the youngster knew Aberforth, he must have come to help. Perhaps Dumbledore had sent him.

The boy had spoken with such a sweet sincerity that Aberforth was moved to tears.

'I hoped you would have kept in touch.'

'I didn't think you wanted me to Tom!' Aberforth wailed with mixed happiness and sorrow. 'I thought you despised me!'

The boy spoke again but this time Sirius was sure that his voice held a note of mockery - something Aberforth did not sense.

'I could never despise you Aberforth. I admit I resented you – How could I not; your brother being who he is?'

'Now listen here!' Moody cried, brandishing his wand at the stranger. 'I don't know who you are but I'll be damned if I allow you to speak about Albus Dumbledore in that tone!'

Sirius became aware that the Death Eaters had moved closer, keen to protect this boy from harm.

Tom waved an arm, warning them to stay back.

'You don't know who I am?' the boy asked with mock astonishment. A secretive smile played upon his handsome face.

'I can hardly be surprised. After all, the great Professor Dumbledore would not want to talk about Tom Riddle. The young man his brother was so infatuated with….. The young man who became Lord Voldemort.'

Sirius jumped back in horror. The mere sound of that name drove fear into his heart….but to be faced with its owner…words could not describe the terror he felt… terror which emanated from those around him, even those who stood in black hoods.

How could this be Lord Voldemort?

It didn't seem real.

This boy could not be He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named….The most reviled wizard of all time.

Aberforth looked on in confusion.

'So you really are Lord Voldemort? Golly Tom….No wonder you don't come to our Hogwarts reunions.'

'Well, it wouldn't really be appropriate. Not as the current Headmaster wishes me dead.'

The young Dumbledore stepped forward and placed a hand on Tom's shoulder.

'No Tom, he doesn't. Not really. If only he knew the real you. How can you expect him to like you if go around committing nasty killings? Did you know one of your men tried to curse me?'

Moody, who seemed to be having trouble believing what he was hearing, suddenly started forward towards Tom, as if going to strangle him.

He was stopped by a Death Eater, who conjured a rope and bound the Auror. A second Death Eater bound the rest of the Order members, barring Aberforth, similarly.

'See Tom!' cried Aberforth. 'See! They are frightful wretches! Why did you let them do that? Are you not their boss?'

Tom laughed a cold, mirthless laugh.

'Now Aberforth lets not play silly games. Why don't you hand me that thing in your hand?'

Automatically Aberforth's eyes fell to the Stone, which he held out towards Tom.

'Nooooo!' Moody yelled as he lay on the ground, bound with glowing red rope from shoulder to ankle.

Aberforth looked down at Moody and said. 'It's ok Ally. He won't lose it.'

'He's Voldemort you stupid fool!' Moody bellowed 'He'll kill us all.'

Confused Aberforth turned back to his old school-friend.

'You won't will you Tom? You wouldn't kill me and my friends?'

'Of course not.' Tom smiled. 'You can come and look at it sometimes, if you'd like Aberforth. You'd like that wouldn't you?'

Aberforth smiled brightly then asked, 'Or, if I keep it at my house you could come and visit us? I really would like to keep it,' his grip tightened upon the Stone, his eyes full of longing. 'I don't get to go out much you see…..and it would be really nice to have this to play with. What do you say?'

Sirius watched the circus show in horror, his life depending on Aberforth's common sense.

Moody writhed angrily spitting furiously at Aberforth.

'Give him that Stone and I'll kill you myself even if he doesn't!'

'Now Mr Moody,' Tom laughed humourlessly, 'is that any way to speak to my friend? Give the Stone to me Aberforth…..come on. He held out a pallid palm expectantly.

Aberforth looked at Moody, as if suddenly remembering his new found interest.

'We could always just allow him to borrow it. That would be ok.'

'Yes' Tom smiled, 'Yes, of course. I'll bring it back.'

A few of the Death Eaters sniggered; apparently as bemused by the scene as the Order members.

'Ok,' Aberforth whispered and he placed the Stone in Tom's hand.

What happened next would give Sirius nightmares for years to come.

He watched with fear as Tom Riddle wrapped his long, bony fingers around the Stone.

…The long fingers which grew longer and paler, grey scales covering the once smooth white flesh….

Tom screwed up his face in agony as it too became paler. His features slowly became less prominent, as if they were sinking back into his face. The contours of his features melted into a shapeless mask; his nose shrank to two deep slits in his face. He gave a blood-curdling howl as the transformation took hold. His hands flew to his eyes which were no longer dark brown but bright red with long cat-like pupils. Tom's whole figure grew taller and more imposing.

The transformation from Tom Riddle to Lord Voldemort took only seconds in reality but the scene played out as if in slow motion.

The fully formed Voldemort was perfectly silent; the piercing shrieks of Tom Riddle disappeared as quickly as the boy himself.

Aberforth looked on in horror as his boy-hood idol regarded him through menacing snake-like eyes.

'So,' Voldemort sneered, his voice high and cold, so unlike the young man he had so recently replaced. 'Aberforth Dumbledore… still the blind fool he always was.'

Sirius thought he had witnessed Aberforth's heart visibly sink in his chest, as slowly the cost of his actions dawned on him.

'Tom….what happened to Tom?'

'There is no Tom,' Voldemort said curtly, 'Tom Riddle has not existed for many years…you will soon know the feeling.'

And without any warning Voldemort withdrew his wand and pointed it directly between Aberforth's eyes.

'Avada Kedarva.'

Sirius did not have time to call a warning, or even to scream in protest. The flash of green light hit Aberforth immediately. Hid body slumped to the floor before Voldemort had even lowered his wand.

'Goodbye fool. Your brother will join you soon, I can promise.'

Voldemort turned his head to face Moody and the others.

'I think I will allow my Death Eaters the honour of ending your worthless lives.'

He seemed ready to Apparate, the Stone still clutched tightly in his hand, when a loud crack from behind caused him to jump.

'Dumbledore,' he hissed without even turning around.

His nostrils twitched as though he recognised his old enemy by scent.

Sirius raised his head to find that Albus Dumbledore had in fact Apparated just inches behind Voldemort. He stood tall, wand held high with a dignified expression of calm upon his pale face.

Dumbledore moved closer to his enemy so that the pair stood just inches apart.

Sirius drew breath sharply.

What on earth was Dumbledore doing?

Had he gone mad?

The Hogwarts headmaster seemed quite fearless. His serene demeanour did not falter though his eyes seemed fearful to stray away from Voldemort, who held his wand so that it almost touched his old Professor's face.

'You will not leave this place with that Stone, Tom.' Dumbledore said casually. 'You may as well hand it over now. You know you cannot defeat me.'

Voldemort smirked, his hideous, pale face contorting with supressed humour.

'And who is to stop me? Your gallant army? I am afraid they are a little tied up at the moment.'

Without blinking Dumbledore clapped his hands and the ropes that bound Sirius and the others fell to the floor.

Sirius watched as the ropes wriggled across the grass like snakes and then coiled around the Death Eaters feet and slithered up around their shoulders.

'Nicely done,' Voldemort said silkily. 'But such little tricks will not help your brother will they?'

For the first time since his arrival Dumbledore allowed his eyes to fall upon the lifeless form of his sibling, Aberforth.

'Such a shame…. If you had been a few seconds earlier the buffoon could have been saved…Just as this could have been.'

Voldemort opened his hand to reveal the Philosopher's Stone, blood red and gleaming, resting upon his palm.

The Order members moved closer, closing in upon the two enemies, leaving the Death Eaters struggling to pull themselves free of their ropes.

'Your darling brother is dead Albus, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed finishing him off.'

Voldemort's eyes burned bright red as he taunted Dumbledore, relishing his moment of triumph.

'Though not half as much as I will enjoy putting an end to you.'

Moody stepped further towards Voldemort so that he stood side by side with Dumbledore, who was still gazing down upon his enemy's latest victim.

'Take the captives to Azkaban,' Dumbledore told Moody as he handed him a small copper coin. Moody took the object and nodded in understanding.

'The rest of you will return to Headquarters and await my return. Do try to get some rest.'

Whilst he spoke, Dumbledore switched his gaze to Voldemort carefully keeping him in sight, his wand ready to act against its owner's oldest foe.

'You will take my Death Eaters nowhere!' Voldemort hissed and turned his wand to Moody who had already approached the prisoners. He tried to curse the Auror but his spell missed and Moody vanished, Death Eaters in tow.

Sirius concluded that the copper coin must have been a Portkey – but how had Dumbledore known?

He had known where to find he group, he had known of Aberforth's death and he had already made plans to send the Death Eaters to Azkaban.

Somehow Sirius was not entirely surprised, Dumbledore always did seem to know everything…though some things still slipped beneath his knowledge.

Voldemort raised his wand, his face livid. He threw a curse, a killing curse, at his old rival who Apparated and reappeared some feet away.

'I have asked you to return to Headquarters,' he told the Order plainly, 'please do as I say.'

Fenwick looked hesitant. It seemed ridiculous to leave Dumbledore here alone…to leave him with Lord Voldemort.

The steely glint in Dumbledore's eyes told his followers not to disobey him.

The calm, wizened figure radiated such a wealth of energy and strength that Sirius secretly thought that Dumbledore would be just fine without them; he possessed more skill and knowledge than the entire Order put together.

Sirius took the lead in Apparating from the field - leaving his mentor to face his brother's slayer completely alone.

It seemed to him that this should be a private victory for Dumbledore, something that the old wizard had to do on his own…

A/N Ok, must first of all apologise for the far-too-long-ness of this chapter…and also for the daftness (!) I promise I will never again put silly slashyness into this fic! (although some strange things may happen to Peter!) Next chapter will be more serious…honest! Well anyway ...replies:

Oceanjewel: Hmm…have to admit I'm not all that fond of Lily, but I will definitely build her up. I don't like the idea of her being house-wifey either, she seemed too ballsy for that ( in Snape's Worst Memory, OotP) I'll stick a lot more character interaction in (past and present) cos it is so much more interesting than endless battling. Glad you're still reading!

EloraCooper4: ooh, where to start? Thank you for reviewing…and sorry for keeping you up past bed-time! Ermm, yes, unfortunately Aberforth didn't go too far at all (despite all objections) …which is a shame cos I really loved him! (tho' I suspect he is really the barman at the Hogs Head so he hasn't gone too far!) Yes, he had very 'interesting' taste! I'm very sorry Remus wasn't included but he will be back next chapter. There will be more Marauder bonding in both time-zones, though I hadn't really considered their jobs..will have to get thinking!

Polkat: Errrr, think we have discussed this already...but then, when have I needed an excuse to warble on for hours about nothing?! Sirius and James did suck as guardspeople, but they're still quite young and silly, I think Aberforth's…hmmm…'going on holiday' may have made them wise up a bit …..No there will be no James/Sirius! James/Filibuster/Peter's arse, will still be going ahead tho' I'm going to post this now as I have already been told off about not posting it….rolls eyes If I wasn't wasting time reading emails asking 'where is your chapter?' I would be getting on with it!